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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24672802">Expensive Mistakes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/admirabletragedy/pseuds/admirabletragedy'>admirabletragedy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Skybridger Assortment [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Episode: s03e15 Trials of the Darksaber, Ezra needs a hug, Luke gives him several, Luke is a worried boyfriend, M/M, Mandalorian weapons are dangerous, The Force</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:06:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,457</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24672802</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/admirabletragedy/pseuds/admirabletragedy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke was so focused on watching the fight, he felt the Force’s warning a second too late. </p><p>Sabine had her fist raised, a metal band pointed directly at Ezra’s chest, and Luke was hit by a wave of icy dread.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ezra Bridger/Luke Skywalker</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Skybridger Assortment [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963453</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>92</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Expensive Mistakes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toomanyfandoms99/gifts">Toomanyfandoms99</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>The title is from Fall Out Boy’s “Wilson (Expensive Mistakes)”</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Climbing off the hoverbike he’d arrived on, Luke watched as Ezra stood over Sabine, his wooden practice saber at her throat.</p><p> </p><p>He’d known that Ezra was helping Kanan train Sabine today; he and Fenn Rau had planned to not only bring supplies to where they were practicing but to stay and watch as well.</p><p> </p><p>Well, Luke had planned to stay; Rau had never said anything to him but from the intrigued glint in his eyes, Luke suspected he would want to watch as well. Sabine would be sure to reject their presence however, Luke could see the frustration in her eyes from where she sat on the ground, he doubted company would positively affect her already bad mood.</p><p> </p><p>At the sound of Luke dropping the crates from the bike to the ground, Ezra’s head swiveled in his direction, a smile widening on his face.</p><p> </p><p>Luke smiled back, pleased to see his boyfriend so happy. While Sabine and Rau surely saw his smile as arrogant; Luke knew better. Ezra often struggled with negative thoughts- as much as Luke would tell him otherwise, he didn’t see much in himself- and Luke knew that it was reassurance that he was strong enough to win a fight that had Ezra smiling; it didn’t have anything to do with Sabine herself.</p><p> </p><p>As Sabine stood up and brushed the dust from her armor, Ezra began to stride towards Luke, his practice saber resting over his shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>Luke turned his head as he noticed Rau tense beside him- the man was staring intently towards Kanan, who was talking to Sabine- but as Ezra grew closer, his thoughts were solely on his boyfriend.</p><p> </p><p>As soon as Ezra was close enough, Luke wrapped his arms around him, softly kissing the side of Ezra’s head as he dropped the practice sword to hug him back. He pulled back enough to meet Ezra’s eyes, “You doing okay?” He asked softly, low enough that Rau wouldn’t be able to overhear them.</p><p> </p><p>Ezra nodded before hugging him tightly again, “I missed you.”</p><p> </p><p>Luke traced his hand over the nape of Ezra’s neck, “I missed you too.”</p><p> </p><p>He <em>really</em> had missed Ezra; he’d been working on Yavin with Mon, which unfortunately meant that it had been a while since they’d had the chance to see each other.</p><p> </p><p>“I wish we could be spending time with each other now.”</p><p> </p><p>Luke nodded, tapping Ezra’s shoulder as he let his hands fall to hold Ezra’s, who had taken a step back, “As do I, but Sabine needs you more right now.”</p><p> </p><p>Ezra shrugged, blowing a strand of hair away from his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Luke rolled his eyes fondly before pulling himself onto the front of his hoverbike and gesturing Ezra to move closer and turn around.</p><p> </p><p>Ezra did as asked, leaning his back against the hoverbike, standing between Luke’s legs.</p><p> </p><p>The blond gently tugged Ezra’s hair tie from his thick hair and watched as his bun fell, letting Ezra’s shoulder-length hair fall down his back.</p><p> </p><p>As much as Luke wanted to braid his boyfriend’s hair, he knew Kanan would want his Padawan back soon, so he only ran his fingers through Ezra’s hair quickly, before gathering it together and tying it back in a bun. Smiling at his work- buns weren’t his specialty but Leia had given him a few tips- he settled his arms around Ezra’s shoulders, pulling the Lothalite’s back against his chest before resting his chin atop Ezra’s head.</p><p> </p><p>Ezra sighed, relaxing into the embrace, as they both watched Kanan walk towards them.</p><p> </p><p>“Water?” Luke leaned to the side, reaching for the crate he’d brought, before grabbing one of the bottles of water and tossing it towards Kanan.</p><p> </p><p>The Jedi didn’t hesitate in reaching his arm out to catch it; Luke was still amazed at how seamlessly Kanan moved, despite his blindness.</p><p> </p><p>Luke watched as the older Jedi leaned against the other hoverbike, before turning his gaze to Fenn Rau who had his back turned, talking to Sabine.</p><p> </p><p>Catching a glimpse of metal, Luke frowned, “What’s Rau giving to Sabine?” The question was somewhat rhetorical but Kanan responded anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“What does it look like?”</p><p> </p><p>Luke squinted at the two Mandalorians, but whatever he’d seen was now hidden from view. “I don’t know, it looked to be made out of metal though.”</p><p> </p><p>Kanan hummed in acknowledgment, placing the water on the bike before stretching his arms over his head and addressing his Padawan, “Ready for another round, Ezra?”</p><p> </p><p>He felt Ezra nod his head, mumbling verbal confirmation as well; Luke squeezed Ezra’s shoulder lightly before watching as he pushed off the bike, grabbing his practice saber from the ground before walking out to where Sabine stood.</p><p> </p><p>Luke jumped off the bike he’d been sitting on, walking forward with Kanan. With arms crossed over his chest, Luke shifted on the balls of his feet, watching with narrowed eyes as Fenn Rau walked over to them. The Mandalorian looked smug and Luke couldn’t help but feel nervous at the sight of his smirk.</p><p> </p><p>Before he had the chance to say anything however, Kanan had called out for Ezra and Sabine to begin.</p><p> </p><p>Luke could hear the two talking but found himself distracted by the metal on Sabine’s wrists. He found himself moving away from the other two spectators, far enough away from the duelers that he wouldn’t be hit by a rogue swing, but close enough to observe the two’s movements, however subtle.</p><p> </p><p>Ezra was on the offensive, pushing Sabine backward with the force of his swings, but Sabine was handling herself, blocking each hit.</p><p> </p><p>Luke was so focused on watching the fight, he felt the Force’s warning a second too late.</p><p> </p><p>Sabine had her fist raised, a metal band pointed directly at Ezra’s chest, and Luke was hit by a wave of icy dread.</p><p> </p><p>Before Luke could call for her to stop, Sabine had blasted Ezra with a wave of distorted energy. The blond had never seen anything like it, he hadn’t expected the noise either. The high pitched ringing startled Luke but it had affected Ezra to a much greater extent.</p><p> </p><p>Luke knew that Ezra’s way of interpreting the Force centered on hearing. His connection to all creatures, his ability to hear those who he knew were gone, and <em>his very being</em> relied heavily on his sense of hearing. He’d told Luke countless stories of how he interpreted the Force- explaining how he had talked to his parents on Lothal, after he had found out they had passed away, and telling Luke that he heard Kanan’s Force signature when they’d first met- the two had gone to Kanan then, asking him what this meant.</p><p> </p><p>Kanan had sat them both down, telling them that the Jedi would often hone in on one sense when interpreting the Force. He had explained that his was vision- figuratively <em>and</em> literally- it was how he could <em>see</em> now, even while blind. After listening to their stories, Kanan nodded before saying it sounded as though Ezra’s Force related abilities stemmed most from his natural ability to hear and <em>to</em> <em>listen</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Kanan had turned to Luke then, suggesting that the blond relied most on touch. It was true, Luke knew that he was a tactile person, and his Force abilities were strongly related to the physical plane.</p><p> </p><p>Luke was swept from his thoughts as he watched Ezra shake his head, clamping a hand over his forehead. He heard Rau laugh behind him and nearly turned around in fiery anger but Kanan’s hand on his shoulder grounded him; Ezra was more important.</p><p> </p><p>The blond brushed off Kanan’s hand, walking towards Sabine with barely-controlled anger.</p><p> </p><p>He expected the Mandalorian to stop after seeing Ezra’s disorientation but to his frustration, she only stepped around his hunched over form, sweeping his legs from underneath him with enough force to show that she did not see this as a <em>friendly</em> fight.</p><p> </p><p>Ezra hit the ground hard and Luke’s heart fell to his stomach; he wasted no time in running the rest of the distance to his boyfriend.</p><p> </p><p>He barely registered Sabine turning to Kanan with the wretched device she’d used on Ezra; he was focused on his boyfriend and he knew the older Jedi could handle himself in a fight.</p><p> </p><p>By the time that Luke reached Ezra, kneeling beside him, his boyfriend had curled up, knees to his chest and his arms around his head. Luke put a hand on his arm, muttering a gentle “Hey, I’m here.”</p><p> </p><p>Ezra was shaking as Luke moved closer, grabbing Ezra’s hand and moving it away from its vice-like grip over his ear. Ezra’s eyes flew open at Luke’s touch and he tensed, relaxing upon realizing it was Luke.</p><p> </p><p>Luke stroked his cheek, his thumb running smooth circles over Ezra’s temple, “What hurts?”</p><p> </p><p>Ezra blinked at Luke before choking on a gasp, his hold on Luke’s wrist becoming painfully tight, “Can’t hear.”</p><p> </p><p>Luke cursed, turning to Kanan just as the Jedi moved his saber to Sabine’s neck.</p><p> </p><p>Feeling something land on his hand, he moved his gaze back to Ezra, who had his eyes squeezed shut, tears running down his face and hitting Luke’s wrist. Luke gently squeezed Ezra’s shoulder to get him to look up before he began to slowly bring Ezra to a sitting position. Ezra winced at the movement, but relaxed when it stopped, burying his face in Luke’s shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>Knowing that Ezra trusted him enough to have blind faith in the fact that Luke would keep him safe while he couldn’t defend himself, filled Luke’s heart with warmth; it was short-lived however, Luke’s worry growing when he felt Ezra tense in his grasp, a whine escaping his throat. Luke looked back up to see Kanan standing in front of the two of them; the Jedi must’ve moved there without Luke noticing.</p><p> </p><p>Kanan crouched before the two of them, questioning Luke in a low voice, “What happened? I just heard ringing.”</p><p> </p><p>Luke looked at Sabine- she was having a heated discussion with Rau- before turning back to Kanan. “I just saw this wave of, <em>something</em>. I’m not sure what it was, but it hit Ezra and it really affected him. He hit the ground <em>hard</em>, Kanan. He’s saying he can’t hear.”</p><p> </p><p>Kanan muttered a curse under his breath before reaching out to place a hand on Luke’s shoulder, “You need to check his eyes, Luke, he might have a concussion.”</p><p> </p><p>Kanan dropped his hand as Luke leaned back from Ezra, moving a hand to Ezra’s back to help him stay upright. Softly, Luke brought his other hand to Ezra’s cheek, prompting the Lothalite to blink, slowly opening his eyes. Luke frowned at what he saw, before directing his voice back to Kanan, “His pupils are pretty big. That’s bad, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Kanan nodded in affirmation, standing up, and Luke let Ezra fold back into his arms, his head in the crook of Luke’s neck. “We need to get him to medical.”</p><p> </p><p>Before he could move, Kanan’s gaze quickly snapped up, causing Luke to tense and move his head to see what the man had sensed.</p><p> </p><p>It was Sabine; Luke bit his tongue. As much as he wanted to question Sabine on <em>what in the seven Corellian hells she was thinking</em>, Ezra’s tightened grip on his tunic reminded Luke of what was most important at the moment. He sighed, hoping to send the message to Ezra that everything was fine, <em>it worked</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Sabine had taken a step closer, worriedly looking at Ezra; Luke tightened his arms around his boyfriend in response before looking at Rau, who was standing a step behind Sabine.</p><p> </p><p>Kanan seemed to sense that Luke was wary of talking at the moment, opting to question the older Mandalorian himself, “What the hell was <em>that</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>Rau crossed his arms, “Braces made to combat the abilities of a Jedi.”</p><p> </p><p>Luke bristled and he could see Kanan clench his fists, but before either could reply, Rau continued, “They’ve never done <em>that</em>. He shouldn’t have been so disoriented.”</p><p> </p><p><em>His hearing</em>. The Mandalorians didn’t understand the Force like the Jedi did.</p><p> </p><p>Luke closed his eyes, lightly running a hand through Ezra’s hair to calm himself down. He imagined his anger leaving his being with every exhale against the side of Ezra’s head; he looked back up as he felt the last of his anger leave his body.</p><p> </p><p>Sabine and Rau were gone, a look to the side letting Luke know that they were heading to the hoverbikes.</p><p> </p><p>Luke tapped Ezra’s shoulder, trying to convey what was happening and leaning back Ezra gave a slight nod, crossing his feet behind Luke’s waist, before resting his head against Luke’s shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>Knowing that Ezra would hold on, Luke grabbed Kanan’s outstretched hands, letting the Jedi pull him up, so he wouldn’t have to jostle Ezra by making him stand.</p><p> </p><p>Upon fully standing, Luke moved an arm around Ezra, shifting his other arm beneath Ezra’s thigh, to make sure he wouldn’t fall.</p><p> </p><p>Using the Force as an aid to help hold Ezra up, Luke followed Kanan to the remaining hoverbike. Understanding Kanan’s plan, he waited until the older Jedi had sat on the hoverbike before moving to sit behind him- his arms circling Ezra like a brace- and grabbing Kanan’s shirt in a tight grip.</p><p> </p><p>“Good?” Kanan asked Luke, waiting for Luke to confirm he was okay before starting up the bike.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Luke answered, leaning closer to Kanan as the man revved the hoverbike, beginning the journey back to the base.</p><p> </p><p>Luke closed his eyes against the wind, trusting Kanan to bring them back to the building safely.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t long before Luke could feel the bike slowing down and he opened his eyes, squinting against the sun. He sighed as they entered the base, watching Kanan stop the bike completely and carefully climb to the ground before turning to Luke.</p><p> </p><p>Rex moved up to them, clearly the man had been anticipating their return; Sabine trailed after him, looking lost.</p><p> </p><p>Luke tapped Ezra’s shoulder again and his boyfriend tightened his grip without even looking up; Luke knew that he didn’t want anyone to see him upset. Luke grabbed Kanan’s hand, swinging his leg over the side of the bike and accepting Rex’s offered hand as well, the two men helping Luke jump down from the bike without hurting Ezra.</p><p> </p><p>While Kanan dropped his hand quickly, Rex’s hand moved to Luke’s shoulder, “Hera’s got medical ready, you good carrying him there, kid?”</p><p> </p><p>Luke nodded, ignoring the <em>“kid”</em> comment in favor of returning his arms to their original position around Ezra. He turned back to Sabine and catching her look he narrowed his eyes but turned around before she could speak.</p><p> </p><p>The blond could hear Kanan and Rex talking behind him but focused on walking to the med bay. He had only moved a few paces forward when he noticed someone following him; <em>Sabine</em>. Luke kept his expression neutral and thankfully Sabine didn’t try to speak to him. He didn’t mind the Mandalorian- he knew that she was friends with Ezra- but at the moment he couldn’t handle <em>polite</em> conversation with anyone, let alone the person that had hurt his boyfriend.</p><p> </p><p>Upon reaching the med bay, Sabine stopped beside Hera, who had been waiting for them to arrive and was holding open a door. Hera smiled softly at Luke in a way that reminded him of how Leia looked at him whenever she was concerned. He returned the smile, he didn’t know her as well as he knew Kanan but Ezra spoke highly of the pilot and Luke knew his boyfriend cared for her deeply.</p><p> </p><p>Luke heard the door shut as he stopped beside the bed, tapping his fingers against Ezra’s back to let him know it was okay to look up. He did, and Luke gently lowered him to the bed; quietly watching as Ezra kicked off his shoes and swung his legs onto the bed before leaning back against the cot’s pillow.</p><p> </p><p>Luke had just intertwined his fingers with Ezra’s when he heard the door open and saw a medical droid step in.</p><p> </p><p>He and Ezra watched as the droid stopped at Ezra’s side, opposite of Luke, and scanned Ezra.</p><p> </p><p>Luke squeezed Ezra’s hand; he knew his boyfriend hated being in the med bay but he also knew that being here was necessary. Luke glanced up as the droid began to speak to him, they must’ve been told that Ezra couldn’t hear, “Ezra Bridger has a grade two concussion. Since his pupils have nearly returned to their correct size, if he is be able to walk without trouble, as well as hold a conversation, he can sleep.”</p><p> </p><p>Luke startled at Ezra’s voice, “I can hear more now. Not like <em>before</em>, but-”</p><p> </p><p>The droid interjected Ezra’s rambling, “That is good news; your hearing should return to normal within a day. The concussion will require you to rest longer, for ten days, but the hearing trouble is unrelated to your concussion, thus it shouldn’t last for long.”</p><p> </p><p>Ezra hummed, and the droid took a step back, “Do you feel you are able to walk across the room, Ezra Bridger?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p> </p><p>Luke stood back as his boyfriend swung his legs off the cot before cautiously pushing himself onto his feet.</p><p> </p><p>Luke watched him carefully but stayed out of Ezra’s way as he slowly walked to the opposite wall, before turning on his heels and walking back. The droid let Ezra sit back down before addressing him, “Do you remember what happened before you were knocked off of your feet?”</p><p> </p><p>“I was sparring with Sabine,” he paused, blinking, before continuing, “she blasted me with something, it was loud.” Ezra looked towards Luke and the blond read the questioning look easily, <em>what did she hit me with?</em> Luke frowned, shaking his head, he still didn’t really understand what had happened.</p><p> </p><p>The droid processed Ezra’s words, “And you did not pass out, correct?”</p><p> </p><p>“I never blacked out,” his boyfriend responded, confirming the droid’s assumption.</p><p> </p><p>The droid paused a moment before speaking again, “It is advised that you stay overnight, Ezra Bridger, but in the morning you may return to your quarters. Seeing as you’ve passed the physical and mental tests and your pupils have returned to the correct size for the light present in the room, you are allowed to sleep. For the next ten days, however, you are to avoid using holos, as they could aggravate your concussion.”</p><p> </p><p>Ezra sighed, reaching out to hold Luke’s hand.</p><p> </p><p>“I shall send a message to General Mon Mothma to inform her of the aforementioned guidelines,” the droid turned to face Luke, “Am I correct in assuming you shall remain at his side?”</p><p> </p><p>Luke nodded without hesitation, “Very well. I shall inform General Mon Mothma of this as well.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>The droid nodded before turning and walking out of the room.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry.” Luke turned to his boyfriend in surprise.</p><p> </p><p>Ezra sensed his confusion, “You have to hang around me all this time.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ezra, I love being near you, you dork,” Luke said, rolling his eyes in fond exasperation and gesturing for Ezra to move over. After Ezra made room for Luke on the cot, the blond kicked off his shoes and climbed up next to him. Ezra moved onto his side to face him, their noses only inches apart.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you <em>really</em> feeling okay?” Luke asked, knowing Ezra tended to downplay his injuries. The Lothalite nodded, “You heard the droid, Luke, I’m alright.”</p><p> </p><p>Luke frowned, “I should’ve stopped Sabine, I’m sorry.” Ezra shook his head bringing Luke’s hand to his lips and kissing his knuckles.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not your fault.” Luke smiled softly, reaching his arms around Ezra and gently pulling the hair tie from his hair, letting it fall over Ezra’s shoulder and behind his back.</p><p> </p><p>Ezra sighed, moving his head to rest on Luke’s outstretched arm and holding the blond’s free hand in his both of his own.</p><p> </p><p>Luke closed his eyes, thanking the Force that Ezra would be okay.</p><p> </p><p>Briefly he wondered whether Sabine would visit; he assumed she would, she had looked apologetic when he’d last seen her. Luke’s mind drifted to Kanan, would he tell the Mandalorians why Ezra had been so affected by the energy blast?</p><p> </p><p>As though sensing Luke’s racing thoughts, Ezra shifted closer, softly kissing Luke on the lips before resting his head back on the pillow he’d moved over Luke’s arm. Luke smiled but kept his eyes closed, letting go of Ezra’s hand in favor of moving his hand under Ezra’s shirt, running his fingers in small circles on Ezra’s side.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t long before Ezra fell asleep and Luke soon followed suit; he would worry about everything tomorrow. For now, holding Ezra as he rested beside Luke was all that mattered.</p>
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